1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to combustion engine oil filters. More specifically, the present invention relates to a conversion kit that allows a user to replace canister style engine oil filters with a housing that supports a removable paper filter element, allowing the user to replace only the filter element during an oil change to reduce waste products during engine servicing.
Internal combustion engines require lubrication to reduce friction, prevent wear, and to maintain optimal performance of the mechanical assembly. Many surfaces are in contact with one another, therefore sufficient surface lubrication is necessary to ensure smooth operation. All vehicle owners and mechanics are accustomed to changing the oil of their vehicle's engine periodically during its useful life, which involves draining and replacing the engine oil, and also replacing the engine oil filter that filters particulates and solid material from within the oil as it is circulated through the engine. Oil filters prolong the life of the engine oil and are used to trap metal shavings, contaminants, and other debris from the oil as it circulates, in an attempt to maintain the cleanliness of the oil and therefore a stable lubricity and fluid viscosity.
Engine oil filters are known in the art and come in different forms. The first major type is the oil filter element type, in which a filter element or cartridge is removed from the engine and replaced during oil change maintenance intervals. Older vehicles deployed this technique, and even some newer generation vehicles have returned to this method as a means of reducing material waste during the oil change process. However, most modern vehicles employ the canister style oil filter assembly, which comprises an enclosed housing having a filter element therein, where the entire canister is threaded into position on the vehicle engine and the entire canister is discarded and replaced during an oil change. This type of oil filter is convenient and less messy to replace, however it is accompanied with a much larger environmental footprint. Replacing the entire canister means the canister and the element are discarded and replaced, wherein the older method of replacing just the filter element creates a waste product in the paper filter only.
Most vehicles have either one type of oil filter or another, without a means to switch between the filter element style and the canister style oil filter. The present invention provides a new and novel assembly that allows a vehicle equipped to support a canister style oil filter the option of retrofitting the present invention to allow replacement of the filter element alone. Specifically, the present invention is an oil canister assembly that includes a structure that separates such that access and removal of the filter element is facilitated such that replacement of the entire canister is not necessary.
The present invention comprises an oil canister housing having a removably attached baseplate, a removably attached lower end seal, an louvered center tube, a removably paper filter element, and a joining fastener that secures the lower end seal to the housing and encloses the filter element therein. The baseplate includes a seal member, an apertured surface to accept oil therethrough, and a central post that threadably attaches to the vehicle engine on one side and to the louvered center tube at the opposite side. The center tube allows oil to flow into the filter element, which is positioned thereover and pressed against the baseplate. The lower end seal is secured to the housing via the joining fastener, whereby the assembly can be broken down to first drain the oil and the retrieve and replace the filter element therein. Overall, the present invention provides consumers and mechanics with a convenient means of retrofitting a standard canister oil filter with one that produces less waste products during an oil change procedure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to assemblable oil filters and those that support removable filter elements. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Such devices include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,227,381 and 6,499,605 to Koivula, which disclose a spin-on oil filter that comprises a casing with an openable end. The casing is removable to access the filter and remove the same, wherein the filter is attached to a collar that connects to the vehicle engine and allows engine oil to enter therethrough. This assembly permits the user to remove the filter element by removing the outer casing; however it is structured such that the entire casing must be removed first, whereby oil within the casing cannot first be drained, and furthermore the entire casing must be removed to facilitate removal of the filter element. While fulfilling a similar purpose, the structure and the configuration of the Koivula device diverges from that of the present invention, which provides a housing having a removable lower end seal and a threadably attached baseplate attaching to the vehicle engine. The present invention adds greater flexibility with regard to draining the oil and then accessing the filter therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,355 to Habiger an oil filter having a base plate that can be fastened to a threaded nipple, a cover that is releasably fastened to the base plate, and a support tube disposed on the cover or base plate. The filter element is placed over the support tube. The filter cartridge is in contact with a seal on the base plate and an additional seal on the cover. The device of Habiger allows one to replace the filter element alone, as provided herein. However, the present invention includes a removable lower end seal as well as a removable baseplate, both of which are secured to the oil canister housing to form an enclosed volume secured by the securing fastener. The present invention offers greater flexibility and allows the user to neatly drain the filter housing before opening the same and retrieving the filter element therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,987 to Mules discloses an oil filter assembly that supports a removable filter element that is attached by a screw-thread attachment at the opening of the oil filter body. The oil filter body supports the oil filter element herein, wherein the element is replaceable. A base supports an elongated tube supporting the filter element, wherein the base is attached to the body. Similar to the Habiger and Koivula devices, the Mules device fails to offer the ability to separate the housing of the oil filter canister as provided herein, or with the ability to drain the housing prior to separation of the housing from the baseplate or from the engine.
Still other devices in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,758 to Jainek and U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,893 to Koelfgen. These devices, as with the aforementioned devices, do not provide an oil filter assembly having a housing support a removable baseplate, end seal and a removable center post. Furthermore, these devices do not allow the engine oil to be drained prior to removing the filter housing, which can be an unnecessary mess. The present invention supports a securing fastener that acts as a drain nut prior to removing the housing from the baseplate to access the removable filter element.
The present invention provides an oil filter assembly that is completely disassemblable, whereby the housing of the assembly connects to a removable baseplate and end seal, while the filter element is secured therein and removable after the sealing fastener is removed and the engine oil is drained from the assembly. In this way, the present invention provides a novel means of replacing the canister style oil filter of an internal combustion engine. It is submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing oil filter devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.